


Happy With Me

by conniptionns



Series: Comb My Hair [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Easter Egg Hunt, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-18 02:51:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14203452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conniptionns/pseuds/conniptionns
Summary: Set a bit after Painting a Hole's ending! Andrew reflects on his little family :')





	Happy With Me

**Author's Note:**

> So, I know that TECHNICALLY I haven't finished Painting a Hole yet (YET I say goddamn you Muse!!!) so you haven't met their kids. I think it's explained decently, but I mean, it will all be revealed in the past that I have yet to reveal?
> 
> I JUST NEEDED THIS AND COULDN'T WRITE UNTIL IT WAS DONE

Andrew was thinking longingly about the pale yellow dress with the white lace trim that was lying on Caroline’s bed, white shoes pressed together neatly on the floor with lace edged socks tucked into them. He had a moment of silence for the multiple shopping trips it had taken him to come up with the perfect outfit for his daughter.

He watched her now, wearing her brother’s exy goalkeeper facemask, running through their backyard. Dressed in hot pink fuzzy pants that barely peeked out from underneath Neil’s old jersey that they had fashioned into a makeshift dress for her, using too many safety pins to count. What was best, the jersey was Neil’s scrimmage jersey, which had decades old blood in the collar from a bloody nose Neil had gotten when he had been dicking around without his mask on in college.

The bright orange streak running through his backyard, spilling Easter eggs behind her, was the best part of Andrew’s life. The two boys running ahead of her, pointing out eggs, were also with her at the top of Andrew’s list of favorite things.

He was leaning against a stone bench in their back garden, too stubborn to sit down, but not stubborn enough to take weight off his bad knee whenever he could. It was Caroline’s first Easter that she was mobile enough to take part. Bookshelf, their arthritis ridden and wobbly dog was following behind her, setting down an egg only to pick up a new one to carry for her. He didn’t know how to define the warm feeling in his chest.

Andrew thought Easter was a stupid holiday, but he had been celebrating it for the past four years. Jacob and Isaac had woken up on Easter when they first arrived at the Minyards’ house and asked if the Easter Bunny had come. Andrew had looked down at the four and six year olds for just a split second before he loaded them in the car to take them on a hunt to ‘find the Easter Bunny,’ while Neil went to the store and made hideously bright baskets full of goodies for their brand new foster kids.

Jessie had been significantly easier. She had been 17 and sure as shit didn’t believe in the Easter Bunny, but then again, a pregnant foster kid had been its own interesting battle. She was in Malaysia this year. He would have to put some Easter Bunny money in her bank account that after four years, she hadn’t closed. Even though the only time she contacted Andrew or Neil was when she sent postcards whenever she arrived in a new country. Andrew followed her on Facebook and knew that she was living her best life, and what more could you want for your kids?

Isaac was ten years old now and he was the exy fiend Neil had always hoped his kid would be. An agreement they made before any child was placed with them was that they wouldn’t pressure them to do anything they didn’t want to, but they would be encouraged to have active hobbies and would be required to follow through with their commitments. Isaac wasn’t theirs by blood, but he was a carbon copy of Neil in the personality department. A proper hellion that kept them on their toes at all times. His little brother Jacob was eight and had just returned from the science camp he went to over his spring break. Jacob was the studious one that chose swimming as his active hobby. Andrew hadn’t known how to swim, but since Jacob told Andrew at five that he wanted to swim but was scared, there hadn’t been a swim lesson that Andrew hadn’t participated in also.

Neil was making Andrew wait until after dinner to tell them that the adoption had gone through. They never complained, but Andrew knew it hurt to know that Caroline was legally theirs and didn’t have to fear being sent to live with Jessie. Not that Isaac and Jacob’s parents would have ever been granted custody, but Andrew could understand that visceral fear either way. He had felt that fear after all, but if Andrew had slipped notes into the golden eggs and they opened them before dinner, well Neil wouldn’t be mad. After all, he was their father and their joy was his joy, too.

Caroline was two and a half, the brightest light in Andrew’s life so far. Andrew never thought he would have had children. But the decision to foster all those years ago, the decision he made with his  _ husband _ , well, Andrew certainly had no regrets. Neil claimed that he wouldn’t let her play exy until she was at least 30, what with it being such a violent sport, but she was obsessed with her brothers and wanted to do or be whatever they were. Until she was old enough, she was in ballet, but was too rambunctious to stick with it unless one of her dads were in the room doing it with her. Andrew thought that was fair. Corralling a room of 10 two year olds was like herding cats, they had no attention span that made logical sense.

Neil was behind him now. Hair a mixture of fiery red and a gray that twinkled in the light, wrinkles around his eyes from smiling at their kids. He was the most beautiful thing in the world to Andrew.

Maybe the Easter Bunny was real and he brought Andrew a family.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Leave a kudo, drop a comment!
> 
> *side note, I googled the singular form of kudos because I am Like That*


End file.
